Stephen Edward Schmidt (born September 28, 1970) is an American

communications Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inqui ...

and public affairs strategist who worked on Republican political campaigns, including those of President George W. Bush, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Arizona Senator John McCain. Schmidt was the senior campaign strategist and advisor to McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. He pushed McCain to select

Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, author, and reality television personality who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 ...

as his running mate, a choice which Schmidt came to regret. He was a vice chair at the public relations firm

Edelman Edelman is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Abram Wolf Edelman (a.k.a. Abraham Edelman; 1832–1907), Polish-born American rabbi; the first rabbi in Los Angeles, California * Adam Edelman (born 1991), American-born four-time I ...

, where he advised CEOs and senior decision makers at Fortune 500 corporations, until he stepped down in July 2018, and became a political analyst for

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politic ...

. Schmidt has been extremely critical of former President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...

, and of the GOP for supporting him. In June 2018, Schmidt renounced the Republican Party as "fully the party of Trump". In early December 2020, he stated: "The Republican Party is an organized conspiracy for the purposes of maintaining power for self-interest, and the self-interest of its donor class ... It's no longer dedicated to American democracy." Schmidt is a founder of

The Lincoln Project The Lincoln Project is an American political action committee (PAC) formed in late 2019 by former and current moderate Republicans. During the 2020 presidential election, it aimed to prevent the re-election of Donald Trump and defeat all Re ...

, a group founded to campaign against former President Trump. He resigned from the board in 2021 in the wake of the John Weaver sexual harassment scandal, claiming that he had only learned of the allegations in the previous month, though this claim was contradicted by a former Lincoln Project employee. In a

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

on December 14, 2020, Schmidt announced that he planned to register as a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

Early life and education

The son of a schoolteacher and a telecommunications executive, Schmidt grew up in

North Plainfield, New Jersey North Plainfield is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. It is located within the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 21,936,Eagle Scout, a tight end on the high school football team, a two-year member of the

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic ach ...

, and senior class vice president. In 1988, he was one of two graduating seniors voted "most likely to succeed" by his classmates at North Plainfield High School. As a young boy, he distributed campaign materials for Democrat

Bill Bradley William Warren Bradley (born July 28, 1943) is an American politician and former professional basketball player. He served three terms as a Democratic U.S. senator from New Jersey (1979–1997). He ran for the Democratic Party's nomination fo ...

1978 United States Senate election The 1978 United States Senate elections in the middle of Democratic President Jimmy Carter's term. Thirteen seats changed hands between parties, resulting in a net gain of three seats for the Republicans. Democrats nevertheless retained a 58&nd ...

in New Jersey. Schmidt attended the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 m ...

from 1988 through the spring of 1993, majoring in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

. During this time, he registered as a Republican. He left three credits short of graduation because he did not pass a math course; Schmidt has said that he has been diagnosed with a

learning disability Learning disability, learning disorder, or learning difficulty (British English) is a condition in the brain that causes difficulties comprehending or processing information and can be caused by several different factors. Given the "difficult ...

that makes higher math difficult for him. He joined the Delta Tau Delta fraternity, was a member of the campus

Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

(ROTC) program, and did field work for Republican candidates in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacen ...

, sometimes wearing campaign buttons to class. Schmidt completed his final math course and received his degree in 2013.

Career

Early campaigns

In 1995, Schmidt managed the unsuccessful campaign for Kentucky

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Will T. Scott William Thompson Scott (born July 20, 1947) is an American jurist who is a former Associate Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court. He was elected in November 2004 to represent the 7th Supreme Court District, which consists of 22 counties in Easter ...

, who is formerly a Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court. This Kentucky campaign's advertising strategy was featured in the second edition of ''

George Magazine ''George'' was a glossy monthly magazine centered on the theme of politics-as-lifestyle founded by John F. Kennedy Jr. and Michael J. Berman with publisher Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. in New York City in September 1995. Its tagline was "Not Ju ...

''. In 1998, Schmidt ran California State Senator Tim Leslie's unsuccessful race for

lieutenant governor of California The lieutenant governor of California is the second highest executive officer of the government of the U.S. state of California. The lieutenant governor is elected to serve a four-year term and can serve a maximum of two terms. In addition to ...

. Also that year, he was the communications director for California State Treasurer Matt Fong's unsuccessful campaign to unseat U.S. Senator

Barbara Boxer Barbara Sue Boxer (née Levy; born November 11, 1940) is an American politician and lobbyist who served in the United States Senate, representing California from 1993 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the U. ...

. In 1999, he was the communications director for

Lamar Alexander Andrew Lamar Alexander Jr. (born July 3, 1940) is a retired American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he also was the 45th governor of Tennessee fro ...

's presidential run, leaving in June when the campaign reduced its senior staff.

Washington, D.C.

President Bush Congratulates Judge Alito on Senate Confirmation

By late 2000, Schmidt was communications director of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. In 2001, he was the spokesman of the

National Republican Congressional Committee The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is the Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives. The NRCC was formed in 1866, when the Republican caucuses of the House an ...

, becoming the Communications Director by 2002. Schmidt joined the Bush administration as a deputy assistant to the president and counselor to Vice President

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former ...

. In 2004, he was a member of the senior strategic planning group, led by

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, D.C., NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. preside ...

adviser

Karl Rove Karl Christian Rove (born December 25, 1950) is an American Republican political consultant, policy advisor, and lobbyist. He was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff during the George W. Bush administration until his resignation on Augu ...

, that ran President George W. Bush's re-election campaign; Schmidt oversaw the reelection "war room". In 2005 and 2006, he was the White House strategist responsible for the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point ...

nominations of Samuel Alito and Chief Justice

John Roberts John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as the 17th chief justice of the United States since 2005. Roberts has authored the majority opinion in several landmark cases, including '' Nat ...

California

In 2006, Schmidt left the White House to become the campaign manager of the successful re-election campaign for California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. From there, he became a partner in Mercury Public Affairs, part of

FleishmanHillard FleishmanHillard Inc. (formerly, Fleishman–Hillard) is a public relations and marketing agency founded and based in St. Louis, Missouri. It was acquired by Omnicom Group in 1997, becoming part of the Diversified Agency Services (DAS) division. ...

, in charge of Mercury's operations in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

2008 McCain presidential campaign

On July 2, 2008, Schmidt was appointed to head up day-to-day operations of the McCain campaign in response to concerns that the campaign lacked coordination and a clear message.

Rick Davis Richard Dean Davis (born November 24, 1958) is an American former soccer midfielder, and former captain of the U.S. National Team for much of the 1980s. He is considered by fans the best U.S.-born player of the North American Soccer League e ...

retained the formal title of "campaign manager". In 2022, Schmidt revealed he was deeply disillusioned with McCain by the end of the campaign and did not vote for him, and instead left his presidential vote blank.

Press commentary

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' described Schmidt's management as having transformed the McCain campaign into "an elbows-out, risk-taking, disciplined machine", crediting him with aggressive responses to press criticism and creative methods of manipulating the news cycle. ''Time'''s Michael Scherer, in an opinion piece from September 15, 2008, relating to Schmidt's involvement with John McCain's presidential campaign, stated that Schmidt, the "lord of outrage, has a long and prosperous career ahead of him". On September 22, 2008, Schmidt accused ''

'' of

bias Bias is a disproportionate weight ''in favor of'' or ''against'' an idea or thing, usually in a way that is closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair. Biases can be innate or learned. People may develop biases for or against an individual, a group ...

against McCain in favor of his opponent,

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

, calling the ''Times'' "a pro-Obama advocacy organization that every day impugns the McCain campaign, attacks Senator McCain, attacks Governor (Sarah Palin)" and saying "Whatever The New York Times once was, it is today not by any standard a journalistic organization."

Stance on gay rights

Schmidt voiced his support for

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , ...

at a meeting of the

Log Cabin Republicans The Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) is an organization within the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party which advocates for equal rights for LGBT in the United States, LGBT+ Americans. History Log Cabin Republicans was founded in 1977 ...

, a

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

Republican group. He said: "I just wanted to take a second to come by and pay my respect and the campaign's respect to your organization and to your group. Your organization is an important one in the fabric of our party." Schmidt said about his lesbian sister and her life partner: "On a personal level, my sister and her partner are an important part of my life and our children's life. I admire your group and your organization and I encourage you to keep fighting for what you believe in because the day is going to come." In February 2013, Schmidt, along with 74 other Republicans, co-signed an ''

amicus Amicus is Latin for 'friend' or 'comrade'. The word may refer to: Organizations * Amicus (trade union), the former British trade union, now merged with the TGWU to form Unite * Amicus Bank, a former bank based in Canada * Amicus Books, an inde ...

'' brief to the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point ...

in support of overturning

Proposition 8 Proposition 8, known informally as Prop 8, was a California ballot proposition and a state constitutional amendment intended to ban same-sex marriage; it passed in the November 2008 California state elections and was later overturned in court ...

. "The die is cast on this issue when you look at the percentage of younger voters who support gay marriage", he was quoted as saying. "As

said years ago, 'Freedom means freedom for everybody. While leading the 2008 John McCain presidential campaign, the McCain campaign states that "gay adoption is a state issue and does not endorse any federal legislation."

Departure from the Republican Party

In May 2018, when President

moved the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, sparking violent Gaza border protests, Schmidt said Trump "has blood on his hands". The Embassy's opening coincided with the bloodiest day of the

2018 Gaza border protests Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the shor ...

, with more than 57 Palestinians killed. Despite initial violence after the decision, the United States under President Joe Biden has decided to keep the embassy in Jerusalem. On June 19, 2018, Schmidt formally withdrew from the GOP over Trump's policy of separating immigrant families at the U.S. border with Mexico. He also cited Republican leadership for their failure to challenge the policy. Schmidt said of Trump, "We have in America—right now, at this hour—to understand that you have a lawless president, a vile president, a corrupt president, a mean, cruel president, who is seeking to remake the world order." In June 2018, he tweeted: "the Republican Party ... is fully the party of Trump. It is corrupt, indecent and immoral. With the exception of a few Governors like

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Since grains ...

Hogan A hogan ( or ; from Navajo ' ) is the primary, traditional dwelling of the Navajo people. Other traditional structures include the summer shelter, the underground home, and the sweat house. A hogan can be round, cone-shaped, multi-sided, or squ ...

and Kasich it is filled with feckless cowards who disgrace and dishonor the legacies of the party's greatest leaders ... Today the GOP has become a danger to our democracy and our values." During an August 2018 television appearance, he characterized

Trumpism Trumpism is a term for the political ideologies, social emotions, style of governance, political movement, and set of mechanisms for acquiring and keeping control of power associated with Donald Trump and his political base. ''wikt:Trumpist ...

as follows: Describing his new political orientation, he stated: On December 14, 2020, Schmidt announced he was joining the Democratic Party on his podcast, ''Battleground''.

Howard Schultz's possible 2020 run

On January 28, 2019, it was reported that Schmidt, along with Democratic consultant Bill Burton, had been hired to help shape a potential presidential run by former

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 ...

CEO

Howard Schultz Howard D. Schultz (born July 19, 1953) is an American businessman and author who served as both chairman and CEO of Starbucks from 1986 to 2000, from 2008 to 2017, and as interim CEO since 2022. Schultz also owned the Seattle SuperSonics basket ...

. After Schultz decided to withdraw from the race, Schmidt returned to MSNBC.

Other professional activities

Just Capital

Schmidt serves on the board of the nonprofit research organization, Just Capital, alongside

Arianna Huffington Arianna Stassinopoulos Huffington (née Ariadnē-Anna Stasinopoúlou, el, Αριάδνη-Άννα Στασινοπούλου ; born July 15, 1950) is a Greek-American author, syndicated columnist and businesswoman. She is a co-founder of '' The ...

, Deepak Chopra, and others.

Words Matter Media

In August 2018 Schmidt launched a podcast with

Elise Jordan Michael Mahon Hastings (January 28, 1980 – June 18, 2013) was an American journalist, author, contributing editor to ''Rolling Stone'' and reporter for BuzzFeed. He was raised in New York, Canada, and Vermont, and he attended New York Un ...

focused on the Trump presidency. Schmidt parted ways with the podcast when he walked out in the middle of an episode in which Jordan and executive producer Adam Levine questioned Schmidt about his role as adviser to potential 2020 presidential candidate Howard Schultz.

The Lincoln Project

Schmidt is a founding member of

, a Super PAC organized by former Republican operatives opposed to the re-election of

in 2020, and supported the Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden. Schmidt and members of The Lincoln Project guest starred on Showtime's '' The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth'' in 2020, giving viewers an insight to their strategies. In January 2020, a person working for the digital advertising company Tusk raised concerns about John Weaver's pattern of sexual harassment to Lincoln Project executive Ron Steslow, who in turn notified other Lincoln Project officials. By June 2020, members of

's leadership were informed in writing and in subsequent phone calls of at least 10 specific allegations of harassment against John Weaver. Two of these allegations involved Lincoln Project employees. Schmidt released a statement on January 31, 2021, "No Lincoln Project employee, intern, or contractors ever made an allegation of inappropriate communication about John Weaver that would have triggered an investigation by HR or by an outside employment counsel. In other words, no human being ever made an allegation about any inappropriate sexualized communications about John Weaver ever." However, another former Lincoln Project employee told ''The New York Times'' that this was false, and Schmidt knew of the allegations in October 2020 "at the latest," and was present when Schmidt spoke about it. Other employees confirmed to the ''Times'' that Lincoln Project leadership was aware of the allegations even earlier than October. In February 2021, Schmidt stepped down from his position on The Lincoln Project board and released a statement in which he disclosed he was sexually molested as a teen and apologized to another co-founder, Jennifer Horn, for tweeting her private correspondence with a reporter. He also stated he was stepping down from the board in order to make room for the appointment of a female board member as the first step to "reform and professionalize" The Lincoln Project.

Substack article

In 2022, Schmidt established a

Substack Substack is an American Online platforms for collaborative consumption, online platform that provides publishing, payment, analytics, and design infrastructure to support subscription newsletters. It allows writers to send digital newsletters dir ...

account entitled, ''The Warning''. Using that platform, on May 8, 2022 he published the article, ''No Books. No Money. Just the Truth.'' In it, he discussed the 2008 campaign to elect John McCain and revealed that, after Schmidt and the campaign personnel had effectively overcome coverage of a reported affair with a lobbyist, McCain told him that the report was correct, and that Schmidt wanted to acknowledge his participation in "public lying".

In popular culture

Schmidt was portrayed by

Woody Harrelson Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor and playwright. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards ...

in the 2012

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

film ''

Game Change ''Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime'' is a book by political journalists John Heilemann and Mark Halperin about the 2008 United States presidential election. Released on January 11, 2010, it was al ...

''. The film, based on chapters of the book of the same title by political journalists

John Heilemann John Arthur Heilemann (born January 23, 1966) is an American journalist and national affairs analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. With Mark Halperin, he co-authored '' Game Change'' (2010) and '' Double Down'' (2013), books about presidential campai ...

and

Mark Halperin Mark Evan Halperin (born January 11, 1965)Mark Halperin. ''Contemporary Authors Online''. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Gale Biography In Context. is an American journalist, currently a host and commentator for Newsmax TV. Halperin previously worked as ...

, focuses on the choice of

as John McCain's running mate in the 2008 United States presidential election. Schmidt is shown as pushing for the choice of Palin, then afterward conceding she was unqualified for the job, including that she had a limited knowledge of current affairs. Schmidt himself voiced his approval of the film, saying that "it tells the truth of the campaign" and that watching the film was tantamount to "an

out-of-body experience An out-of-body experience (OBE or sometimes OOBE) is a phenomenon in which a person perceives the world from a location outside their physical body. An OBE is a form of autoscopy (literally "seeing self"), although this term is more commonly use ...

Personal life

Schmidt has three children with his former wife Angela Schmidt.

References

External links

*Romano, Lois (August 21, 2008)
The Silver Bullet: Steve Schmidt Makes Sure His Candidate Knows Exactly What He Is Shooting For
. ''Washington Post''
Steve Schmidt: Renowned Political Strategist and MSNBC Political Analyst
Speaker Bio at Leading Authorities. Retrieved March 30, 2018. *Nagourney, Adam (July 3, 2008)

''

''. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidt, Steve Living people American campaign managers American people of German descent John McCain 2008 presidential campaign LGBT rights activists from the United States New Jersey Republicans Neoconservatism North Plainfield High School alumni People associated with the 2008 United States presidential election People from North Plainfield, New Jersey Criticism of Donald Trump American political commentators MSNBC people Utah Independents Utah Democrats 1970 births